Diclofenac-related vulture death in Spain may point toward a much bigger problem Should the end times be near, whether through global warming, loss of fish from the oceans, nuclear war, or any of myriad other calamities, vanishing vultures might be among the early harbingers of the apocalypse. Vultures might be expected to descend on the […]
Maneka makes waves as animal welfare minister (November 1998)
Moved rapidly on marine mammal exhibition, cattle transport, & wild-caught bird trade NEW DELHI––Contrary to Press Trust of India and New Zealand Press Association reports of October 7, Indian minister for social justice and empowerment Maneka Gandhi did not ban animal experiments in India effective on October 8, 1998 but she did announce draft regulations […]
Why vultures are not circling over the drought-parched world
It isn’t that vultures don’t feel the threat from global warming GABORONE, Botswana––Scarce over much of drought-parched India, Central Asia, and Africa, vultures still converge over dead livestock and wildlife in Botswana, stripping the corpses of even elephants and hippos down to the bones within hours––but for how much longer? The Botswana Department of […]
The Big Five: Peter Jackson, 90, helped to save Indian tigers
Part I of a three-part series (See also John & Margaret Craighead led fight to save grizzly bears and Browder helped save the Everglades, Kellert found the current changing for animals.) Journalist Peter Jackson, instrumental in saving Indian tigers, died on December 9, 2016 in London, England at age 90. Biologists John and Margaret Craighead, instrumental in […]
Ashok Kumar, 81, brought India’s most notorious poacher to justice
Co-founded Wildlife Trust of India NEW DELHI, India––Ashok Kumar, 81, the quiet man of Indian wildlife conservation, died on August 19, 2016, after a lifetime of undercover and behind-the-scenes work on behalf of tigers, elephants, and every other iconic, rare, or struggling species on the subcontinent. Co-founder and president emeritus of the Wildlife […]
Supreme Court of India rules against harvest festival mayhem
Animal Welfare Board of India chair R.M. Kharb & vice-chair Chinny Krishna refuse to quit NEW DELHI, CHENNAI––Animals may be killed and injured by the hundreds of thousands during the 2016 Indian harvest festivals, January 12-18, but the mayhem may not proceed with government approval, ruled a two-judge bench representing the Supreme Court of India […]
Vultures at play keep ghouls away
Loss of vultures haunts the Indian subcontinent CHANDIGARH, NAIROBI, LITTLE ROCK––Vultures darkening the sky, trees, and rooftops in growing numbers near slaughterhouses throughout the U.S. South and Midwest in recent years signify as Halloween 2015 approaches that the U.S. has little to fear from ghouls. Ghouls, in original definition, are grave robbers and scavengers […]